Judge orders alleged child abuser held without bail
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
A 22-year-old Dorchester man who is accused of horrific abuse of his girlfriend's 7-year-old son was ordered held without bail today by a Wareham District Court judge.
Judge Brian Gilligan ruled that there were no conditions that would prevent David J. Privette from being a danger to the boy and witnesses in the case, if he were released.
Privette, a former convict who had served time for crack cocaine possession and assaulting a police officer, allegedly beat the boy with a belt, burned his genitals with lit cigarettes, and urinated on his head. He faces charges that include indecent assault and battery on a child, and mayhem.
Privette tried to plead guilty to those charges in the hearing this morning, in what his attorney explained was a tactical maneuver to avoid the tougher sentences he'll face when the case moves to Superior Court -- and not an admission of responsibility. Gilligan refused to accept the plea.
Gilligan ruled after Laura Johnson, a nurse at the boy's Middleborough school, said the boy had told her of the abuse on three occasions from mid-December to mid-March. Johnson said she reported the information each time to the Department of Social Services.
Thomas Pyne, Privette's defense attorney, asked her what she did after the reports. She said she waited for a response from DSS. The judge then cut off the inquiry about the school department's actions, saying they weren't relevant to the case.
The boy's mother, Michelle Henry, has also pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless endangerment and assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury.
DSS commissioner Angelo McClain said last week that his agency had failed the boy on numerous fronts. He said the agency hadn't moved quickly enough to take custody of the boy and his 3-year-old half sister; had failed to learn Privette's identity and background; and failed to do its own exam of the boy, which would have revealed his injuries.
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